Free floating battery cell assembly techniques for lithium ion battery module

ABSTRACT

Present embodiments include a lithium ion battery module having a lineup of prismatic lithium ion battery cells positioned within a cell receptacle area of a housing of the lithium ion battery module. The prismatic battery cells of the lineup are spaced apart from one another in a spaced arrangement by fixed protrusions extending from internal surfaces of the housing forming the cell receptacle area, and the fixed protrusions extend inwardly to form a plurality of discontinuous slots across a width of the cell receptacle area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/056,382, filed Sep. 26, 2014, entitled “FREEFLOATING BATTERY CELL ASSEMBLY TECHNIQUES FOR LITHIUM ION BATTERYMODULE,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of batteries andbattery modules. More specifically, the present disclosure relates tobattery cell placement within Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery modules.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

A vehicle that uses one or more battery systems for providing all or aportion of the motive power for the vehicle can be referred to as anxEV, where the term “xEV” is defined herein to include all of thefollowing vehicles, or any variations or combinations thereof, that useelectric power for all or a portion of their vehicular motive force. Forexample, xEVs include electric vehicles (EVs) that utilize electricpower for all motive force. As will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), also considered xEVs, combinean internal combustion engine propulsion system and a battery-poweredelectric propulsion system, such as 48 Volt (V) or 130V systems. Theterm HEV may include any variation of a hybrid electric vehicle. Forexample, full hybrid systems (FHEVs) may provide motive and otherelectrical power to the vehicle using one or more electric motors, usingonly an internal combustion engine, or using both. In contrast, mildhybrid systems (MHEVs) disable the internal combustion engine when thevehicle is idling and utilize a battery system to continue powering theair conditioning unit, radio, or other electronics, as well as torestart the engine when propulsion is desired. The mild hybrid systemmay also apply some level of power assist, during acceleration forexample, to supplement the internal combustion engine. Mild hybrids aretypically 96V to 130V and recover braking energy through a belt or crankintegrated starter generator. Further, a micro-hybrid electric vehicle(mHEV) also uses a “Stop-Start” system similar to the mild hybrids, butthe micro-hybrid systems of a mHEV may or may not supply power assist tothe internal combustion engine and operates at a voltage below 60V. Forthe purposes of the present discussion, it should be noted that mHEVstypically do not technically use electric power provided directly to thecrankshaft or transmission for any portion of the motive force of thevehicle, but an mHEV may still be considered as an xEV since it does useelectric power to supplement a vehicle's power needs when the vehicle isidling with internal combustion engine disabled and recovers brakingenergy through an integrated starter generator. In addition, a plug-inelectric vehicle (PEV) is any vehicle that can be charged from anexternal source of electricity, such as wall sockets, and the energystored in the rechargeable battery packs drives or contributes to drivethe wheels. PEVs are a subcategory of EVs that include all-electric orbattery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles(PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehiclesand conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.

xEVs as described above may provide a number of advantages as comparedto more traditional gas-powered vehicles using only internal combustionengines and traditional electrical systems, which are typically 12Vsystems powered by a lead acid battery. For example, xEVs may producefewer undesirable emission products and may exhibit greater fuelefficiency as compared to traditional internal combustion vehicles and,in some cases, such xEVs may eliminate the use of gasoline entirely, asis the case of certain types of EVs or PEVs.

As technology continues to evolve, there is a need to provide improvedpower sources, particularly battery modules, for such vehicles and otherimplementations. For example, certain traditional battery modules mayinclude a plurality of battery cells. In such traditional modules, thebattery cells may be subject to swelling during use (e.g., charging anddischarging), which can affect their operation and, in some situations,cause the cells to move within the battery module. Elaborate clampingmechanisms are traditionally used to compress the battery cells inposition, which provides compression to offset swelling and maintainstheir position within the modules. Accordingly, it is now recognizedthat traditional battery modules may be subject to further improvementby, for example, reducing or altogether eliminating the need for suchclamping mechanisms. Further, it is also recognized that it may bedesirable to reduce or mitigate battery cell swelling.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

Present embodiments are directed toward a series of battery moduleshaving a plurality of battery cells (which may also be referred to aselectrochemical cells herein). For example, in one aspect, the presentdisclosure relates to a lithium ion battery module having a lineup ofprismatic lithium ion battery cells positioned within a cell receptaclearea of a housing of the lithium ion battery module. The prismaticbattery cells of the lineup are spaced apart from one another in aspaced arrangement by fixed protrusions extending from internal surfacesof the housing forming the cell receptacle area, and the fixedprotrusions extend inwardly to form a plurality of discontinuous slotsacross a width of the cell receptacle area.

In another aspect, the present disclosure also relates to a lithium ionbattery module system, including a housing having a base, a top portionopposite the base, a first cell receptacle area comprising a firstcolumn of discontinuous slots, the first column extending in a directionfrom the base to the top portion. The housing also includes a secondcell receptacle area oriented parallel to the first cell receptacle areaand having a second column of discontinuous slots. The discontinuousslots of the first and second columns are each configured to receive aprismatic battery cell, and are formed by a plurality of protrusionsfixed to interior surfaces of the housing.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure also relates to a lithiumion battery module, including a housing having a base and a top portionopposite the base and having terminals configured to enable electricalconnection to the lithium ion battery module. The lithium ion batterymodule also includes first and second prismatic lithium ion battery celllineups positioned adjacent and parallel to one another and in thehousing. The first and second prismatic battery cell lineups each have aset of aligned prismatic lithium ion battery cells having theirrespective positive and negative terminals positioned on a single sideof the housing. Each lithium ion prismatic battery cell is spaced apartfrom an immediately adjacent prismatic lithium ion battery cell by anair gap.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an xEV having a battery systemconfigured in accordance with present embodiments to provide power forvarious components of the xEV, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway schematic view of an embodiment of the xEV having astart-stop system that utilizes the battery system of FIG. 1, thebattery system having a lithium ion battery module, in accordance withan aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of various battery modules illustratingthe manner in which a single type of battery cell may be incorporatedinto different types of lithium ion battery module housings to place aplurality of the battery cells into a floating arrangement, inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of an overlay of lithium ion batterymodule dimensions corresponding to the lithium ion battery modules ofFIG. 3, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of an overlay of available cell volumesof the lithium ion battery modules of FIG. 3, in accordance with anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a prismatic battery cell that may beincorporated into the battery modules of FIG. 3, in accordance with anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway top perspective view of a plurality of battery cellscorresponding to the battery cell of FIG. 6 incorporated into thehousing overlay depicted in FIG. 4, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of a plurality of battery cells placedwithin a battery module housing and having an expanded view of fixedprotrusions producing a floating cell arrangement, in accordance with anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a cutaway side perspective view of a lithium ion batterymodule having a plurality of battery cells in a floating arrangement,with the housing removed to depict the relative positioning of thebattery cells when in the floating arrangement of FIG. 8, in accordancewith an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a comparative side view of a swellable battery cell and asubstantially non-swellable battery cell before and after charging, inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is an exploded top perspective view of a lithium ion batterymodule having battery cells that are urged inwardly against a back of ahousing by an integrated bus bar and voltage sense subassembly, inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a cutaway side view of a column of battery cells in thebattery module of FIG. 11 taken along line 12-12, and having one or morespacers positioned between the battery cells, in accordance with anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a manufacturing system configured to pickand place battery cells into a battery module housing without performingbattery cell grading, in accordance with an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is a process flow diagram of a method for manufacturing batterymodules using the pick and place technique performed by the system ofFIG. 13, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a manufacturing system configured to indexa battery module housing, and to place battery cells and othercomponents into the housing in accordance with the indexing, inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a process flow diagram of a method for manufacturing batterymodules using the indexing technique performed by the system of FIG. 15,in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of the indexing technique of FIG.16, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 18 is a front view of a partially assembled lithium ion batterymodule having substantially non-swellable battery cells, the batterycells having different states of charge but substantially the same cellthickness, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

The battery systems described herein may be used to provide power tovarious types of electric vehicles (xEVs) and other high voltage energystorage/expending applications (e.g., electrical grid power storagesystems). Such battery systems may include one or more battery modules,each battery module having a housing and a number of battery cells(e.g., Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells) arranged within the housingto provide particular voltages and/or currents useful to power, forexample, one or more components of an xEV. As another example, batterymodules in accordance with present embodiments may be incorporated withor provide power to stationary power systems (e.g., non-automotivesystems).

Battery cells used in lithium ion battery modules may also be referredto as battery cells, and different types of such battery cells can havedifferent voltages and/or capacities, for example based on the activematerials contained within each cell. Generally, lithium ion batterycells will include a cathode (a positive electrode), an anode (anegative electrode), and an electrolyte that provides a source of ions(e.g., lithium ions). In certain configurations, the cathode and anodeeach include an electrode active material that enables the electrodes tostore and transfer ions (e.g., lithium ions) during charging anddischarging cycles. Whether the electrode is a cathode or an anode isgenerally determined by the electrode active material for each and theirreference voltages versus Li/Li+. Thus, the electrode active materialswill generally be different.

As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, an electrochemicalhalf-reaction occurs at each of the positive and negative electrodes.For example, the electrochemical half-reaction at the positive electrodemay be a reaction in which one or more lithium ions are reversibly(based on an equilibrium) dissociated from the positive electrode activematerial, thereby also releasing one or more electrons (equal in numberto the number of dissociated lithium ions). At the negative electrode,the electrochemical half-reaction that occurs may be a reaction in whichone or more lithium ions and one or more electrons (of equal number) arereversibly associated with the negative electrode active material (e.g.,carbon).

During discharging of the battery, the equilibria at the electrodesfavor dissociation of the lithium ions and electrons from the negativeelectrode active material and re-association of the electrons andlithium ions with the positive electrode active material. On the otherhand, during charging, the reverse is true. The movement of the ionsinto the electrodes is commonly referred to as intercalation orinsertion, and the movement of the ions away from the electrodes iscommonly referred to as deintercalation or extraction. Accordingly,during discharging, intercalation occurs at the positive electrode anddeintercalation occurs at the negative electrode, and during charging,the reverse is true. Therefore, lithium ion battery cells will generallyoperate based on lithium ion intercalation and deintercalation at itselectrodes.

In this regard, a number of properties of the battery cells may stemfrom a combination of the physical configuration of the cell (e.g., itsshape, size, layout), and its chemical configuration (e.g., electrodeactive materials, electrolytes, additives). For example, in traditionalprismatic battery cells that use graphite as an anode active material, arelatively large degree of size change may occur as a result of chargeand discharge cycles, where during charging, lithium becomesintercalated into the active material (graphite), causing the anode toswell, while during discharging, the active material releases thelithium, causing the anode to reduce in size. Such swelling can beproblematic in that it reduces the power density of the battery cell,and, as the anode swells, this causes resistance between the anode andcathode to occur, which reduces the efficiency of the cell. Intraditional approaches, this swelling is somewhat mitigated by way ofplacing a relatively large degree of compression force onto theprismatic cells, for example at a position corresponding to their activeareas where the electrodes (anode and cathode) are located. However,these clamping mechanisms can be bulky and add considerable weight to aparticular lithium ion battery module.

For example, actuatable clamping mechanisms such as a clamp attached tothe battery module, a movable plate disposed within the battery modulehousing that may be actuated (e.g., using a crank, a clamp, anadjustable tie and bolt mechanism) to abut against the battery cells, oran adjustable tie and bolt mechanism used to actuate components (e.g.,outer or inner walls) of the battery module housing, may be used tocompress the battery cells by a particular amount. This may be done tomaintain the energy density and performance of the battery cells withina predetermined range. Prismatic battery cells, for example, aretraditionally held in place by such actuatable clamping mechanisms thatare a part of or integrated with a battery module housing.

In accordance with the present disclosure, it is now recognized that itmay be desirable to mitigate, reduce, or altogether eliminate suchswelling without having to rely on such bulky and heavy clampingmechanisms. It is also now recognized that the elimination of suchtraditional clamping mechanisms may enable other lithium ion batterymodule features. For example, in certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure, lithium ion battery modules may be designed to have aparticular volume for the battery cells, while other portions of thelithium ion battery modules may be used for other module features, suchas control and regulation circuitry (e.g., a battery monitoring system(BMS), a battery control module (BCM)), thermal management features(e.g., fans, cooling paths), and so forth. Indeed, reduced swelling andreliance on clamping mechanisms may also enable battery module sizes anddesigns that may be particularly suitable for certain applications, suchas micro-hybrid applications.

With the foregoing in mind, the present disclosure, in one aspect, isdirected toward lithium ion battery modules that include a plurality ofbattery cells (lithium ion battery cells, also referred to herein aselectrochemical cells or cells) in a floating assembly, which is alsoreferred to herein as a floating arrangement. The floating assembly ofthe present embodiments may include an arrangement where each batterycell is suspended within a housing of the module by a plurality of fixedprotrusions (e.g., two or more), and the fixed protrusions hold thecells along their periphery, such as only along a portion of theirperiphery. In certain embodiments, the battery cells may includespecific chemistries that enable the cells to be utilized in the presentbattery modules with little to no swelling, which in such embodimentsenables a gap (e.g., an air gap) to be maintained between the cellswithout clamping features being placed on the active areas of the cells.For example, during normal operation (e.g., charging/dischargingmaintained within a certain state of charge (SOC) range), the cellsdescribed herein may swell to an extent that is greatly reduced oraltogether eliminated compared to other battery cells used intraditional lithium-ion battery modules. Such embodiments are describedin further detail below.

It is also now recognized that the reduction in swelling of theprismatic battery cells incorporated into the battery modules describedherein may be used to achieve enhanced efficiency in certainmanufacturing processes. For example, during a process in which alithium ion battery module is assembled, the cells may be “picked andplaced” during automated or non-automated manufacturing processes. Thatis, the cells may be picked one by one off of a feed path or out of abin, without having to determine whether the particular cell isappropriate for inclusion within a particular battery module or cellgroup. Instead, the battery cell may simply be placed into a modulehousing.

While the present disclosure includes a number of embodiments that maybenefit from the use of certain types of battery cells that have reducedswelling, it should be noted that certain disclosed embodiments may alsobe applicable to lithium ion battery modules that use a wide variety ofcells, including those that swell. In this regard, the description setforth below should not be construed as being limited to certain lithiumion battery cell chemistries, except as otherwise indicated. Indeed, awide variety of electrode active materials, electrolyte materials, andso forth, may be used in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

In one aspect, for example, the cathode active material and the anodeactive material of the electrodes in the lithium-ion battery cells maybe selected so as to have reduced swelling compared to othercombinations of electrode active materials for the anode and cathode.While the electrode active materials may generally be of any type,configuration, or chemistry, in one embodiment, the cathode activematerial may include lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC,LiNi_(1/3)Co_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)O₂), which may be combined (e.g., blended)with other cathode active materials such as lithium cobalt oxide (LCO,LiCoO₂), while the anode active material may be lithium titanate (LTO,Li₄Ti₅O₁₂). In prismatic battery cells, which are intended to includebattery cells having a generally rectangular shape and a hard (e.g.,metallic) outer casing, a combination of these active materials mayreduce swelling and associated size variability due to charge anddischarge cycling. In this regard, such prismatic battery cells may beparticularly useful where the cells may be relied upon for reliablecharge and discharge cycles to power automotive equipment, homeequipment, and so forth.

For example, in certain xEV contexts (among others, such asnon-automotive or stationary energy expending applications), a 12 Voutput from a lithium ion battery module may be desirable to powercertain types of components (e.g., similar types of componentstraditionally powered by a traditional lead acid battery in traditionalvehicles), while a 48 V output may be more suitable to power other typesof components that may require a higher voltage, such as an airconditioning system. With this in mind, it is now recognized that thepresent battery module embodiments may be particularly applicable tosuch types of battery modules. Indeed, the present approaches may enablethe production of lithium ion battery modules that may be designed tofit in different locations of an xEV, or in different locations of ahome or other setting.

To help illustrate, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of avehicle 10, which may utilize a regenerative braking system. Althoughthe following discussion is presented in relation to vehicles withregenerative braking systems, the techniques described herein areadaptable to other vehicles that capture/store electrical energy with abattery, which may include electric-powered and gas-powered vehicles, aswell as other non-automotive (e.g., stationary) applications.

It is now recognized that it is desirable for a non-traditional batterysystem 12 (e.g., a lithium ion car battery) to be largely compatiblewith traditional vehicle designs. In this respect, present embodimentsinclude various types of battery modules for xEVs and systems thatinclude xEVs. Accordingly, the battery system 12 may be placed in alocation in the vehicle 10 that would have housed a traditional batterysystem. For example, as illustrated, the vehicle 10 may include thebattery system 12 positioned similarly to a lead-acid battery of atypical combustion-engine vehicle (e.g., under the hood of the vehicle10). Furthermore, as will be described in more detail below, the batterysystem 12 may be positioned to facilitate managing temperature of thebattery system 12. For example, in some embodiments, positioning abattery system 12 under the hood of the vehicle 10 may enable an airduct to channel airflow over the battery system 12 and cool the batterysystem 12.

A more detailed view of the battery system 12 is described in FIG. 2. Asdepicted, the battery system 12 includes an energy storage component 14coupled to an ignition system 16, an alternator 18, a vehicle console20, and optionally to an electric motor 22. Generally, the energystorage component 14 may capture/store electrical energy generated inthe vehicle 10 and output electrical energy to power electrical devicesin the vehicle 10.

In other words, the battery system 12 may supply power to components ofthe vehicle's electrical system, which may include radiator coolingfans, climate control systems, electric power steering systems, activesuspension systems, auto park systems, electric oil pumps, electricsuper/turbochargers, electric water pumps, heated windscreen/defrosters,window lift motors, vanity lights, tire pressure monitoring systems,sunroof motor controls, power seats, alarm systems, infotainmentsystems, navigation features, lane departure warning systems, electricparking brakes, external lights, or any combination thereof.Illustratively, in the depicted embodiment, the energy storage component14 supplies power to the vehicle console 20 and the ignition system 16,which may be used to start (e.g., crank) the internal combustion engine24.

Additionally, the energy storage component 14 may capture electricalenergy generated by the alternator 18 and/or the electric motor 22. Insome embodiments, the alternator 18 may generate electrical energy whilethe internal combustion engine 24 is running More specifically, thealternator 18 may convert the mechanical energy produced by the rotationof the internal combustion engine 24 into electrical energy.Additionally or alternatively, when the vehicle 10 includes an electricmotor 22, the electric motor 22 may generate electrical energy byconverting mechanical energy produced by the movement of the vehicle 10(e.g., rotation of the wheels) into electrical energy. Thus, in someembodiments, the energy storage component 14 may capture electricalenergy generated by the alternator 18 and/or the electric motor 22during regenerative braking. As such, the alternator and/or the electricmotor 22 are generally referred to herein as a regenerative brakingsystem.

To facilitate capturing and supplying electric energy, the energystorage component 14 may be electrically coupled to the vehicle'selectric system via a bus 26. For example, the bus 26 may enable theenergy storage component 14 to receive electrical energy generated bythe alternator 18 and/or the electric motor 22. Additionally, the busmay enable the energy storage component 14 to output electrical energyto the ignition system 16 and/or the vehicle console 20. Accordingly,when a 12 volt battery system 12 is used, the bus 26 may carryelectrical power typically between 8-18 volts.

Additionally, as depicted, the energy storage component 14 may includemultiple battery modules. For example, in the depicted embodiment, theenergy storage component 14 includes a lithium ion (e.g., a first)battery module 28 and a lead-acid (e.g., a second) battery module 30,which each includes one or more battery cells. In other embodiments, theenergy storage component 14 may include any number of battery modules.Additionally, although the lithium ion battery module 28 and lead-acidbattery module 30 are depicted adjacent to one another, they may bepositioned in different areas around the vehicle. For example, thelead-acid battery module 30 may be positioned in or about the interiorof the vehicle 10 while the lithium ion battery module 28 may bepositioned under the hood of the vehicle 10.

In some embodiments, the energy storage component 14 may includemultiple battery modules to utilize multiple different batterychemistries. For example, when the lithium ion battery module 28 isused, performance of the battery system 12 may be improved since thelithium ion battery chemistry generally has a higher coulombicefficiency and/or a higher power charge acceptance rate (e.g., highermaximum charge current or charge voltage) than the lead-acid batterychemistry. As such, the capture, storage, and/or distribution efficiencyof the battery system 12 may be improved.

To facilitate controlling the capturing and storing of electricalenergy, the battery system 12 may additionally include a control module32. More specifically, the control module 32 may control operations ofcomponents in the battery system 12, such as relays (e.g., switches)within energy storage component 14, the alternator 18, and/or theelectric motor 22. For example, the control module 32 may regulateamount of electrical energy captured/supplied by each battery module 28or 30 (e.g., to de-rate and re-rate the battery system 12), perform loadbalancing between the battery modules 28 and 30, determine a state ofcharge of each battery module 28 or 30, determine temperature of eachbattery module 28 or 30, control voltage output by the alternator 18and/or the electric motor 22, and the like.

Accordingly, the control unit 32 may include one or more processors 34and one or more memory units 36. More specifically, the one or moreprocessor 34 may include one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),one or more general purpose processors, or any combination thereof.Additionally, the one or more memory 36 may include volatile memory,such as random access memory (RAM), and/or non-volatile memory, such asread-only memory (ROM), optical drives, hard disc drives, or solid-statedrives. In some embodiments, the control unit 32 may include portions ofa vehicle control unit (VCU) and/or a separate battery control module.Furthermore, as depicted, the lithium ion battery module 28 and thelead-acid battery module 30 are connected in parallel across theirterminals. In other words, the lithium ion battery module 28 and thelead-acid module 30 may be coupled in parallel to the vehicle'selectrical system via the bus 26.

It should be noted that presently disclosed embodiments may beapplicable to any battery module having the same or differentconfigurations and/or orientations described above and in detail below.One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the components andexamples used to describe battery modules in accordance with the presentdisclosure should not be construed to limit the present disclosure tothose components and examples alone, unless expressly indicated. Rather,the disclosed examples are merely intended to serve as non-limitingexamples to facilitate discussion of the present disclosure.

As set forth above, in one aspect of the present approach, the lithiumion battery module 28 may be sized to fit in particular portions of thexEV 10, including under the hood, under a passenger compartment, in atrunk, etc. Further, in another aspect, a plurality of different typesof the lithium ion battery module 28 produced in accordance with thepresent approach may be designed to have a common footprint by designinga volume to be occupied by the battery cells, or the volume available tothe battery cells, to have a constant length and width, and differ inthe height direction depending on the number of cells in the module. Inaddition, the design of the volume in the module 28 for the cells mayinclude various other features, such as air gaps, to enable certaintypes of passive and/or active cooling.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, different typesof the lithium ion battery module 28 may utilize a particular type ofprismatic battery cells, as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, as shown, afirst lithium ion battery module 28A, a second lithium ion batterymodule 28B, and a third lithium ion battery module 28C each have arespective housing 40A-40C, and all use a common source 42 of prismaticbattery cells 44. That is, prismatic battery cells 44 conforming to aparticular set of manufacturing specifications (e.g., standardizeddimensions with standard tolerances, constructions, and chemistries) maybe used in any of the illustrated lithium ion battery modules 28. Asalso shown, each of the lithium ion battery modules 28 includessubstantially the same layout of the battery cells 44 in their housings44, with the difference being in total number only.

For example, in FIG. 3, the first lithium ion battery module 28A mayhave a first output voltage (e.g., 12 V) and a first capacity (e.g., 10amp hours (Ah)), and the second lithium ion battery module 28B may havea second output voltage that is the same as the first output voltagewhile having a second capacity greater than the first capacity (e.g., 20Ah), depending on the electrical interconnection of the battery cells44. From a power component standpoint, the second lithium ion batterymodule 28B differs from the first lithium ion battery module 28A by thenumber of total battery cells 44 in their respective housings 40. In oneembodiment, the first lithium ion battery module 28A may include a firstnumber (e.g., 6) of battery cells electrically coupled in a serialarrangement, while the second lithium ion battery module 28B, which hasa larger capacity (e.g., twice the capacity), has a second number (e.g.,12) of the same type of battery cells coupled using a combination ofserial and parallel electrical connections. The arrangement of thebattery cells within the housings 40, which is described in furtherdetail below, is the primary factor that causes a respective height H₁(shown in FIG. 4) of the lithium ion battery module 28A and a respectiveheight H₂ (shown in FIG. 4) of the lithium ion battery module 28B. Thethird lithium ion battery module 28C has a significantly larger heightH₃ (shown in FIG. 4) compared to the first and second lithium ionbattery modules 28A, 28B. This is due, at least in part, to theadditional number of battery cells 44 required for the lithium ionbattery module 28 to reach a higher voltage (e.g., 48 V using a thirdnumber, such as 20, of the same type of battery cells connected inseries).

The housings 40, which may be sized to fit the particular number ofbattery cells 44 required to reach the desired voltage and capacity, mayeach be a one-piece housing or a multi-piece housing (e.g., two-piece,three-piece, or more). To facilitate discussion, different sections ofthe housing 40 (which generally correspond to sections of the overalllithium ion battery module 28) are defined herein as follows: a base 46,which may also be referred to as a bottom portion and generally definesthe footprint of the lithium ion battery module 28 when placed inoperation (e.g., in the xEV 10). A top portion 48 of the lithium ionbattery module 28 is positioned opposite the base 46, and the topportion 48 and the base 46 may be considered, if rested on a flatsurface, to be oriented perpendicularly relative to gravity (i.e., Earthgravity), and the top portion 48 generally includes terminals 47, 49 forthe battery module 28 (as shown on module 28A). However, it should benoted that these portions of the housing 40 may still be referred to asthe base 46 and the top portion 48, even if the battery module 28 wereto be set in a different orientation (i.e., the base 46 and the topportion 48 will not always be perpendicular to gravity, such as whenplaced on another side). The dimensions of the base 46 may be consideredto constitute the length (L) and width (W) of the module 28, which isdescribed in further detail below.

The housings 40 also include left sides 50A-50C and right sides 52A-52C,which may be different due to the differences in height of the differentlithium ion battery modules 28, which is also described in furtherdetail below. The sides generally extend between the base 46 and the topportion 48. The left sides 50A-50C and right sides 52A-52C aredetermined, in the illustrated embodiment, with reference to a cellreceptacle region 54A-54C for each of the modules 28, which may beconsidered to correspond to a front end 56A-56C for each lithium ionbattery module 28. A back end 58A-58C of each module 28 is positionedopposite the front end 56.

The cell receptacle region 54, as shown, is configured to receive aplurality of battery cells (e.g., prismatic battery cells) in aparticular orientation. For instance, in accordance with the presentdisclosure, the battery cells 44 may each have a prismatic casing 60.The prismatic casings 60 are subject to, and may conform to, a set ofmanufacturing specifications, including their size in all dimensions, alocation of certain features (e.g., vents, terminals), and so forth. Tofacilitate discussion, the layout of the prismatic battery cells 44 isdefined herein as follows: the prismatic casings 60, which are of agenerally hard material (e.g., metal), each include a generallyrectangular shape, which may include one or more rounded sides. In theillustrated embodiment, the prismatic battery cells 44 include a topcasing portion 62 where a set of cell terminals 64, 66 (e.g., positiveand negative cell terminals) are located. One or more cell vents 68 mayalso be located on the top casing portion 62. The set of cell terminals64, 66 for each of the battery cells 44 enables the cells to beelectrically connected to various electrical components, including othercells, to the terminals 49 of the lithium ion battery module 28, and aload to which the lithium ion battery module 28 may be coupled. The cellvents 68 are configured to enable venting of gases under certainconditions.

The prismatic cell casings 60 also include a bottom casing portion 70positioned opposite the top casing portion 62 and, as shown, the bottomcasing portion 70 may be placed into the housing 40 first, such that thecell terminals 64, 66 point outwardly from the cell receptacle region 54in the same direction. First and second rounded sides 72, 74 extendbetween the bottom and top casing portions 62, 70 in respectivepositions corresponding to the cell terminals 64, 66. First and secondfaces 76, 78, which are generally flat, couple the first and secondrounded sides 72, 74 at opposing ends of each cell 44.

To also facilitate discussion, the illustrated configuration of thecells 44 may be configured to be a horizontal stack, where the cells 44are positioned such that the first and second faces 76, 78 aresubstantially parallel to the base 46 and the top portion 48, and aresubstantially perpendicular to gravity when the base 42 is placed on aflat surface. The cells 44 in a particular column 80, 82 (there are twosuch columns in the illustrated modules 28) may be considered to bevertically spaced such that there is a gap between the respective firstface of a first cell and the respective second face of a second cell.Such embodiments are described in further detail below. However, itshould be noted that the columns may also be generally referred to as“lineups” of cells in the housing 40, where the lineups may generallydenote an aligned array of the battery cells 44, as shown, and is alsointended to encompass orientations other than the specific orientationillustrated.

The columnar configuration (e.g., two adjacent columns, such as a lineupand an additional lineup) and the standardized dimensions of the cells44 may be desirable, for example, to maintain standard dimensions forthe base 46 across the different embodiments of the lithium ion batterymodules 28A-28C. Indeed, it is now recognized that a combination of thecell chemistry (e.g., NMC/LTO battery cells), cell shape (e.g.,prismatic), and cell size may facilitate production of the modules 28 inthis way. For example, it is now recognized that NMC/LTO battery cells,or other cells that do not swell by more than a predetermined amount,for example by no more than between 0.1% and 15% (e.g., 0.5% and 5%) inany direction, such as by no more than 5% in any direction, may enable atotal cell volume to be defined for each housing 40, and the remaininglayout of the lithium ion battery module 28 to be defined relative tothis volume. Such an approach may be further appreciated with respect toFIGS. 4-7, which depict various aspects of an approach to generate aplurality of the lithium ion battery modules 28 having a definedfootprint (i.e., dimensions for their respective bases 46). While thedisclosure set forth below is described in the context of a particularfootprint, it is noted that the approach may be suitable for otherfootprints and other types of cells.

As set forth above, the base 46 of the lithium ion battery module 28generally defines its footprint. With regard to vehicle integration,this can be an important design concern in that certain sizes for thebase 46 may be desired for integration into a particular vehicle due to,for example, spatial constraints. Again, the base 46 may be representedby the dimensions of the portion of the battery module housing 40 thatis ultimately mounted to or rests on a surface of the xEV 10 (e.g.,closest to the ground/floor).

As shown in FIG. 4, which is a combined illustration 90 of outerdimensions of the modules 28A-28C shown in FIG. 3, all the housings 40include the base 46, which generally corresponds to a length (L) and awidth (W) of each of the lithium ion battery modules 28. Although thelithium ion battery modules 28 are intended to represent advancedbattery modules having lithium ion battery cells, the base 46 maycorrespond to any one of the many group representations (e.g., BatteryCouncil International (BCI) group numbers, Deutsche Industrie Normen(DIN codes), European Norm (EN) codes) established for traditional leadacid batteries (e.g., lead acid battery module 30 in FIG. 2). Each group(e.g., group number) from these established set of standards has astandard length and width for the base of the particular batterycorresponding to the particular group designation. The secondary lithiumion battery modules described herein may or may not have dimensions thatsubstantially match or comply with the standard dimension requirementsof at least a base of a known lead acid battery standard (e.g., a BCIgroup, DIN code, or EN code).

As one example, L and W may be sized to have an H5 (where “H5” is a DINcode) base, which is 242 mm in L by 175 mm in W. The H5 base is alsocommonly referred to as an LN2 base. However, the base 46 of the lithiumion battery modules 28 may have any length and width suitable tosubstantially match a particular base of a lead acid battery. Further,it should be noted that although standardized for lead acid batteries,it can be difficult to conform to such standards using lithium ionbattery cell technologies, especially when considering that lithium ionbattery modules, such as those described herein, may be associated withequipment not found in traditional lead acid batteries such asintelligent control features, thermal management features, advancedventing features, and so forth. Using the configuration of the cells 44set forth above and described in further detail below, such standardsmay be realized.

It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to thebases 46 of the lithium ion battery modules 28 being the same size as alead acid standard. Rather, the lithium ion battery modules 28 may haveany size for their respective bases 46, which in certain embodiments maybe the same for the different lithium ion battery modules 28. As anon-limiting example, L may be a value between 150 mm and 450 mm, and Wmay be a value between 100 mm and 200 mm, where the values match for allthe modular lithium ion battery modules 28. Further, as also shown, themodules 28 have a lip 92 on the base 46, which may be a hold downfeature configured to enable fastening of the battery module 28 to thexEV 10. In the illustrated embodiment, W corresponds to the dimensionsestablished by the lip 92, while in other embodiments where the lip 92is not present, the width may be W′, which may be shorter.

Again, the respective heights H₁, H₂, H₃, of the battery modules28A-28C, respectively, may differ based on their power components. Inone embodiment and by way of non-limiting example, H₁ may be between 130and 160 mm, such as 150 mm, H₂ may be between 160 mm and 180 mm, such as170 mm, and H₃ may be between 160 mm and 200 mm, such as 190 mm. Itshould be noted that the respective heights of the different modules 28may also be subject to design constraints. As an example, if the modules28 are intended to be placed under the hood of the xEV 10, the heightsH₁-H₃ should be tall enough to allow the use of a desired number ofbattery cells 44, but be short enough to enable the hood of the xEV 10to close. Similar spatial constraints may be placed on the batterymodule design depending on, among other things, its intended placement.

To determine the available space for certain components other than thebattery cells 44, it may be desirable to determine an available cellvolume for the module 28 within the housing 40, which in turn depends onthe desired output of the module 28, the number of cells 44 required toprovide the output, and so forth. FIG. 5 depicts an example overlay 100of respective available cell volumes 102A-102C for the first, second,and third lithium ion battery modules 28A-28C. The illustrated cellvolumes 102A-102C may be considered to represent the volume anddimensions within the housings 40A-40C available to be occupied by thebattery cells 44 in combination with any retaining, clamping, andspacing features within the housings 40A-40C. It is now recognized thatthe portion of the respective volumes 102A-102C occupied by the cells 44and their associated securement features may be reduced or minimized inaccordance with certain embodiments described herein, such as when thecells 44 are substantially non-swelling, and/or when the modules 28 donot use hold down or clamping features for the cells 44. Indeed, suchembodiments may reduce the occupied portion of the available cell volume102 compared to embodiments where clamping and hold down features forthe cells 44 are utilized.

Again referring to an embodiment where the modules 28 have an H5 base,the dimensions of the available cell volume 102 may be between 230 mmand 240 mm for L, and between 110 mm and 130 mm for W, such as 236 mmand 120 mm, respectively. For the first module 28A, a height H₄ of theavailable volume 102A may be between 140 mm and 150 mm, such as 144 mm.For the second module 28B, the height H₅ of the available volume 102Bmay be between 160 mm and 170 mm, such as 164 mm, and for the thirdmodule 28C, the height H₆ of the volume 102C may be between 180 mm and190 mm, such as 184 mm.

As may be appreciated, the amount of the available cell volume 102 thatis occupied in a particular lithium ion battery module 28 may depend onthe number of the battery cells 44, the shape and dimensions of thebattery cells 44, and the manner in which the cells 44 are positionedwithin the housing 40 of the module 28. Accordingly, dimensions, shapes,and chemistries of the battery cells 44 may be designed to achieve adesired form factor, volume, and output. As noted above and shown ingreater detail in FIG. 6, the battery cells 44 described hereingenerally have a prismatic shape, which generally includes a rectangularshape, and may also include certain rounded sides as shown in FIG. 3.Dimensions of the prismatic battery cell 44, as shown in FIG. 6, includea cell length (CL) along the rounded sides 72, 74, a cell width (CW)along the top and bottom portions 62, 70, and a cell thickness (CT)extending between the first and second faces 76, 78. As one example, thebattery module 28 may be designed to have an H5 base with a 12V or a 48Voutput, and a 10 Ah or 20 Ah capacity, using cells 44 that have a CL of140 mm with a tolerance of 0.5 mm, a CW of 112 mm, and a CT of 14 mm.However, the cell dimensions may vary, depending on the desireddimensions of the modules 28. The chemistry of the cell, in suchembodiments, may include NMC as a cathode active material (e.g., acombination of NMC and LiCoO₂ (LCO)), and LTO as an anode activematerial. Indeed, because the lithium ion battery module 28 may beplaced in parallel with a lead acid battery module, it may be desirableto use such electrode active materials, since each lithium ion batterycell will be substantially voltage matched with each lead acid batterycell, which may provide a number of operational benefits includingcharge balancing, overcharge and overdischarge protection, and so forth.

In a more general sense, the embodiment of the prismatic battery cell 44shown in FIG. 6 includes the first and second terminals 64, 66, whichmay include the same or different metals, depending on the anode andcathode active materials. By way of example, the positive electrodeactive material may include one or more lithium metal oxide (LMO)components. As used herein, lithium metal oxides (LMOs) may refer to anyclass of materials whose formula includes lithium and oxygen as well asone or more additional metal species (e.g., nickel, cobalt, manganese,aluminum, iron, or another suitable metal). A non-limiting list ofexample LMOs may include: mixed metal compositions including lithium,nickel, manganese, and cobalt ions such as lithium nickel cobaltmanganese oxide (NMC) (e.g., LiNi_(1/3)Co_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)O₂), lithiumnickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) (e.g.,LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.15)Al_(0.05)O₂), lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) (e.g.,LiCoO₂), and lithium metal oxide spinel (LMO-spinel) (e.g., LiMn₂O₄).

Generally, the cathode terminal (e.g., terminal 66) will be an aluminumterminal. However, different anode active materials may utilizedifferent terminal materials. For example, in embodiments where theanode active material includes graphite, the anode terminal (e.g.,terminal 64) will generally be copper. On the other hand, in embodimentswhere the anode active material is lithium titanate, the anode terminalmay be aluminum. Indeed, it is now recognized that in embodiments wherethe battery cells 44 use LTO as the anode active material (e.g., as inan NMC/LTO cell), bimetallic regions in the battery module 28 may bereduced or eliminated. For example, in such embodiments, bus barconnections between anode and cathode cell terminals may use a singleconductive material (e.g., aluminum), rather than a mixture ofconductive materials (e.g., aluminum and copper) that would otherwisecause unwanted galvanic effects. The illustrated terminals 64, 66 arealso shown as being flat. However, in other embodiments, the terminals64, 66 may be post terminals, as shown in FIG. 3.

The prismatic battery cells 44 may also include an active area 120,which is schematically outlined as a dashed box in FIG. 6. The activearea 120 may have any shape and size, and is determined based on acorresponding location in the interior of the cell 44 of a “jelly roll,”which is a common term that refers to a rolled assembly of anode andcathode layers and an electrolyte. That is, the active area 120corresponds to an interior location of the cell 44 where, in someembodiments, swelling can occur. As may be appreciated, swelling of theanode layers due to lithium intercalation may cause the jelly roll tode-laminate, which increases the internal resistance of the cell 44 andreduces its performance. This increase in resistance may also causeadditional heating, which can cause the electrolyte to begin to vaporizeand potentially decompose. Generally, if a prismatic battery cellswells, it will swell in the active area 120 and will increase in cellthickness (CT). As described in further detail below, in accordance withan embodiment, the active area 120 may be in an uncompressed state(e.g., opposing normal forces are not placed on the active area 120)when placed in the housing 40 and, in a further embodiment, may remainin an uncompressed state during operation of the lithium ion batterymodule 28. In other embodiments, such as those where swelling does occur(e.g., if graphite is the anode active material), then the swelling maybe allowed to occur such that the cells in a column are placed into acompressed state by their swelling.

To illustrate, FIG. 7 includes a combined cutaway view of the lithiumion battery modules 28A-28C, which includes a first column of prismaticbattery cells 80 and a second column of prismatic battery cells 82disposed adjacent to the first column. The prismatic battery cells 44 ineach of the columns may be considered to be in a vertically-spacedarrangement, in that each prismatic battery cell 44 in the column isspaced apart from an immediately adjacent battery cell 44 by a distance.In accordance with an embodiment, the distance may define an air gapthat enables the first and second faces 76, 78 to contact a thermalmanagement fluid (e.g., air). Such embodiments are described in furtherdetail below.

As shown in the illustrative example, there are two cell columns in themodules 28, and the number of rows of cells is determined by the totalnumber of cells utilized in the module 28. In other embodiments, theremay be only one column of cells, or more than two columns. Using thedimensions set forth above for the module 28 and the each battery cell44, it can be seen that the number of cells 44 used in the module 28,along with their dimensions, is such that the volume occupied by thecells 44 easily fits within the dimensions of the housings 40. As shownwith respect to the width of the columns 80, 82, twice the cell width(2*CW) and an additional space (represented as “X”) can be fit withinthe profile, meaning that the cells may not need to be in intimatecontact.

The vertically-spaced arrangement noted above may be further appreciatedwith reference to FIG. 8, which depicts an embodiment of the batterymodule 28 in which the cell receptacle region 54 includes first andsecond cell regions 140, 142 corresponding generally to the first andsecond cell columns 130, 132. Each of the cell regions 140, 142 includesfeatures configured to place the cell columns in a horizontalorientation in which they are in a vertically-spaced arrangement.Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the regions 140, 142include fixed protrusions 144 that extend inwardly into each region 140,142 from internal surfaces of the housing 40. In the illustratedembodiment, the internal surfaces include a first sidewall 146 (e.g.,internal sidewall) positioned within the cell receptacle region 54, asecond sidewall 148 (e.g., internal sidewall) positioned opposite thefirst sidewall 146, and first and second sides 150, 152 of a cell columndivider 154. The cell column divider 154 is generally configured toseparate the cell columns 130, 132, and also provides an internalsurface to enable discontinuous slots 156 (e.g., partial enclosures) tobe formed within the cell regions 140, 142. In an embodiment, the cellcolumn divider 154 is approximately midway between the first and secondsidewalls 146, 148.

Thus, the regions 140, 142 each include a column of the discontinuousslots 156, each discontinuous slot 156 being configured to receive asingle one of the prismatic battery cells 44 and extending across awidth of a respective one of the regions 140, 142. The discontinuousslots 156, and, more particularly, the protrusions 144 of thediscontinuous slots 156, are configured to suspend the prismatic batterycells 44 within the housing 40 in a floating arrangement. Again, thefloating arrangement may be considered to be one in which the cells 44are not clamped to one another, not clamped in place to the protrusions144 or the housing 40, and are not compressed. Further, in certainembodiments, the respective active area 120 of each prismatic batterycell 44 is not in contact with any retaining or other feature, includingthe fixed protrusions 144. In other embodiments, one or more thermalmanagement features, such as thermal gap pads (not shown) or the like,may be included within the discontinuous slots 156 in combination with arespective prismatic battery cell 44. For example, the thermal gap padsmay be positioned in parallel with and against the prismatic batterycells 44.

In some embodiments, the protrusions 144 may suspend the cells 44 withinthe housing 40 by contacting only a periphery of the cells 44. Forexample, the fixed protrusions 144 may extend substantially the entirecell length (CL) along the rounded sides 72, 74 of the prismatic batterycells 44, and contact only the sides 72, 74 when the module 28 is fullyformed and in operation. That is, in a fully assembled battery module28, portions other than the sides 72, 74 of the battery cells 44 (atleast cells 44 between the extreme upper and lower cells 44) may not becontacted by the housing outside of contact by the protrusions 144.

The floating arrangement of the cells 44 may be further appreciated withreference to FIG. 9, which depicts the housing 40 removed from the cells44. As illustrated, the cells 44 in each of the columns 80, 82 arevertically spaced from one another (e.g., by the protrusions 144) suchthat a gap 160 exists between a respective first face 76 of a first celland a respective second face 78 of a second cell. The gap 106 may be anair gap that enables the active areas 120 of the cells 44 to contact athermal management fluid (e.g., air). Indeed, in accordance with certainembodiments of the present disclosure, the cells 44 may be NMC/LTO cells(i.e., cells having NMC as a cathode active material and LTO as an anodeactive material) that swell by no more than 1%, 5%, or 10% in anydirection. In this regard, the respective active areas 120 of each cell44 may not contact one another. Further still, in certain embodiments,the cells 44 may contact thermal gap pads 162, 164 at their respectivebottom portions 70 for additional thermal management.

In other embodiments, the cells 44 may be constructed using otherchemistries, for example using other anode active materials (e.g.,graphite) that cause the cells 44 to swell. In such embodiments, thecells 44 may be configured to swell into the gap 160, where the swellingresults in a compressive force being placed on the cells 44 between thecells 44 and the housing 40 (e.g., top and bottom internal surfaces ofthe housing 40). In certain embodiments, such a configuration may bedesirable where contact between charged casings of the cells 44 isdesired, for example, to form an electrical connection between casingsof immediately adjacent battery cells 44.

FIG. 10 is an example of the difference in cell configuration between afirst battery cell 44A that exhibits swelling during operation (e.g., anNMC/graphite cell) and a second battery cell 44B that exhibits little tono swelling during operation (e.g., an NMC/LTO cell). Depending on theparticular shape of the battery cells 44 (e.g., rectangular versuspartially rounded prismatic), the cells 44 may swell in one direction ortwo directions, or may swell in several directions. For the prismaticbattery cells 44, any swelling that occurs will generally be such thatthe cell thickness (CT) increases.

During operation, and depending on the extent to which the cells 44 arecharged and discharged, the first and second battery cells 44A and 44Bmay swell to some extent. However, during normal operation, the swellingfor the second battery cell 44B may be to a lesser extent than the firstbattery cell 44A, as shown by the cell thickness CT. Specifically, thefirst battery cell 44A transitions from having respective first andsecond faces 76A, 78A in a first state (e.g., low SOC) to a second state(e.g., higher SOC) having swelled first and second faces 76A′, 78A′ inits active area 120A.

In contrast, the second battery cell 44B does not swell to anappreciable extent, or swells to a first extent such that its peripherychanges from a first periphery (e.g., from a relatively discharged stateon the left) having respective first and second faces 76B, 78B, to asecond periphery (e.g., in a charged state on the right) havingrespective swollen first and second faces 76B′, 78B′. The change fromthe first periphery to the second periphery for the first cell 44A(e.g., an NMC/graphite cell) is generally greater than for the secondcell 44B (e.g., an NMC/LTO cell), as shown. The degree of swelling maybe represented by the degree of displacement of the outer surface of thecell casing 60 between the configuration of the cell 44 when in arelatively discharged state (e.g., a first state) and the configurationof the cell in a relatively charged state (e.g., a second state). Thedifference in thickness may be present only as swelling from one side,two sides, or more than two sides. For NMC/LTO cells, the swelling maystill be present on one side, two sides, or more than two sides, butwill be less than NMC/graphite cells.

It should be noted that the swelling of the prismatic battery cells 44may also be affected by the degree to which they are discharged andcharged, which is generally controlled by the control unit 32 of FIG. 2.For example, the control unit 32 may maintain a state of charge (SOC) ofthe lithium ion battery module 28 to a range between a first SOC and asecond SOC higher than the first SOC. By way of non-limiting example,the first SOC may be between 15% and 25% and the second SOC may bebetween 40% and 60%. In one embodiment, the first SOC may beapproximately 25% and the second SOC may be approximately 50%. Bycontrolling the SOC of the battery cells 44 in this way, in someembodiments utilizing NMC/LTO cells, swelling may be negligible. Theremay be a number of advantages associated with such reduced, mitigated,or negligible swelling.

For instance, the floating arrangement of the prismatic battery cellsmay not use clamping or hold down features, which may reduce the volumeof the housing 40 occupied by cells and their associated features (e.g.,gap pads, spacers), and may also reduce the weight of the lithium ionbattery modules 28. Further, in certain embodiments, no opposing normalforces may be placed on the first and second faces 76, 78 from outsidethe cells 44, meaning that the active areas 120 of the cells 44 mayremain in a substantially uncompressed state, which enables heatexchange with a surrounding fluid (e.g., air), and reduces (e.g.,mitigates, eliminates) thermal energy transfer between the cells 44. Thereduction of thermal transfer may be desirable, for example, to reducethe effect of a thermal runaway of one of the prismatic battery cells 44on the remaining prismatic battery cells 44.

Other advantages may be associated with the prismatic battery cells 44having mitigated, reduced, or negligible swelling in accordance with thepresent disclosure. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the firstand second prismatic battery cell columns 80, 82 may be coupled, at therespective first and second terminals of their respective prismaticbattery cells 44, to an integrated bus bar and voltage sense subassembly180. The integrated bus bar and voltage sense subassembly 180 mayinclude bus bars 182 configured to electrically couple the cellterminals 64, 66 to a circuit 184, which places the first and secondcolumns 80, 82 into an electrically connected grouping having a totalvoltage and capacity corresponding to the voltage rating and capacityrating of the lithium ion battery module 28. In this regard, theintegrated bus bar and voltage sense subassembly 180 may includeadditional bus bars 186 configured to electrically connect the prismaticbattery cells 44 (e.g., the electrically connected grouping noted above)to positive and negative terminals 47, 49 (e.g., a first terminal and asecond terminal) of the lithium ion battery module 28 to enable thelithium ion battery module 28 to provide an electrical output to anexternal load (e.g., a load of the xEV 10).

These components of the integrated bus bar and voltage sense subassembly180 may be integrated onto a carrier 188, which is configured to providea structural support for the bus bars 182, 186, and the circuit 184.Specifically, the carrier 188 (which may be referred to as an“e-carrier”) may include corresponding connection features to hold thebus bars 182, 186, and the circuit 184, as well as openings 190configured to receive the cell terminals 64, 66. The carrier 188, in oneembodiment, may be the only feature of the lithium ion battery module 28that provides any external compression to the prismatic battery cells44. Specifically, as depicted in FIG. 11, the integrated bus bar andvoltage sense subassembly 180 and the prismatic battery cells 44 may beplaced in the housing 40 in a nested arrangement, and the carrier 188may include features that enable the carrier 188 to be secured to thehousing 40 while urging the cells 44 in a rearward direction 192 fromthe front portion 56 to the back portion 58. While this may impart somecompressive force onto the cells 44, this does not compress the cells 44at their active areas 120, for example such that opposing normal forcesare placed onto the faces 76, 78. In this regard, the carrier 188 doesnot necessarily prevent swelling of the cells 44 when the cell chemistryis subject to swelling (e.g., cells with graphite anode activematerial). Rather, it provides contact for electrical transmissionsbetween the carrier 188 and cells 44. It also facilitates heat transfer.For example, in FIG. 12, it can be seen that the carrier 188 presses theprismatic battery cells 44 in the rearward direction 192 from the frontportion 56 to the back portion 58 and into, for example, the thermal gappads 162, 164. Thus, the carrier 188 may place (e.g., maintain) acompressive force on the prismatic battery cells 44 along their lengths(CL).

While the present embodiments enable the cells 44 to be placed into thehousing 40 in a floating arrangement with an air gap between the faces76, 78 of the cells (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9), it should be noted thatthe lithium ion battery module 28 may, in other embodiments, use one ormore layers 194 placed between the faces 76, 78. The layers 194 may be,for example, structural support layers (e.g., padding layers to cushionthe cells 44), thermal interface layers (e.g., to transfer thermalenergy between the cells 44 and other portions of the housing 40, orwith each other), and so forth. In certain embodiments, the layers 194may be used as spacers. As an example, the layers 194 may be used forelectrical isolation between the cells 44. As another example, thelayers 194 may be used to shim a position (e.g., a vertical position) ofthe cells 44 within the housing 40. For example, a vertical position ofthe cells 44 may be shimmed to facilitate alignment of the cellterminals 64, 66 with the carrier 188. Additionally or alternatively,the vertical position of the cells 44 may be shimmed so that each slot(e.g., discontinuous slot) is completely filled (e.g., with one of thecells 44 and one or more of the layers 194).

While certain advantages may be obtained when using the free-floatingbattery cell assemblies described herein, the present disclosure is notnecessarily limited to such configurations. Indeed, the housing 40 mayinclude fully continuous slots, or no slots, in addition or as analternative to the discontinuous slots 156 described above. Indeed, thedescription set forth above may also apply to the use of fullycontinuous slots or no slots in the housing 40, as appropriate. In suchembodiments, various practical results may still be realized when usingprismatic battery cells 44 that do not swell by more than a particularamount, as described herein.

For instance, certain embodiments of the present disclosure also relateto manufacturing processes and systems that may or may not be automatedto produce the battery modules 28 (e.g., to place the prismatic batterycells 44 into the housing 40). While the embodiment illustrated in FIG.13 is depicted as forming a free floating assembly, it is intended torepresent other types of configurations that do not necessarilyincorporate a free floating cell arrangement. In accordance with the useof substantially non-swelling NMC/LTO battery cells as described herein(e.g., cells that swell by no more than 20%, such as less than 20%, lessthan 15%, less than 10%, less than 5% in any direction, or betweenapproximately 10% and 0.1% in any direction), an automated manufacturingsystem may not need to account for differences in size differences (forexample differences in cell thickness) when choosing or otherwiseselecting a particular prismatic battery cell 44 to place within thehousing 40 of the battery module 28.

In traditional manufacturing systems, a set of prismatic battery cells44, while being subject to the same manufacturing specifications, mayvary within those specifications across one or more tolerance ranges.For example, the cell thickness (CT), cell length (CL), cell width (CW),or any combination thereof, may vary between the prismatic battery cells44. In traditional battery cells, this variation may result from, forexample, differential states of charge, where a first relativelydischarged (relatively low SOC) battery cell may have a first size(e.g., relatively small in the size tolerance range) and a secondrelatively charged battery cell (relatively high SOC) may have a secondsize different from the first due to lithium intercalation into theanode. In traditional battery modules, a module housing may not be ableto fit a set of swollen (e.g., high SOC) cells because they are all on alarger end of a manufacturing size tolerance. On the other hand, a setof relatively low SOC battery cells may not fill the housing to asufficient extent, which can cause instability in the module. Inreality, a set of battery cells may include a mixture of low SOC batterycells and high SOC battery cells, meaning that, for traditional batterycells, the battery cells vary within the manufacturing tolerance bydifferent degrees. To ensure a proper fit, traditional manufacturingsystems may determine the size, degree of variation, SOC, or anycombination thereof, for each battery cell to determine whether thebattery cell is an appropriate fit within a particular housing. Suchprocesses may generally be referred to as “cell grading” processes.

It is now recognized that such grading process may be reduced oreliminated in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure,because the NMC/LTO prismatic battery cells 44 do not swell, or onlyswell by no more than a relatively small percentage (e.g., by no morethan 5%). For example, the prismatic battery cells 44 may have a defineddimension (e.g., cell thickness CT), and a defined tolerance range forthe CT to allow for some degree of manufacturing variability (e.g.,resulting from swelling). For example, a particular standard may allowfor a 5% variation in the CT, meaning that the group of prismaticbattery cells 44 may have thicknesses ranging from 5% below the definedCT to 5% above the defined CT. Again, the use of 5% is an example.

It is now recognized that not having to account for differences inbattery cell size variations resulting from manufacturing variability(e.g., due to swelling) may increase the speed of manufacturingprocesses, and may also reduce capital costs associated withimplementing manufacturing systems. One example of such a manufacturingsystem 200 (e.g., a pick and place system) is shown schematically inFIG. 13. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment of themanufacturing system 200, a control system 202 with control logic 204(e.g., including one or more processors and one or more memory units,one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more general purposeprocessors, or any combination thereof) may be programmed withinstructions configured to cause a robotic placement system 206 (e.g., acell positioning system) to pick (e.g., engage using a capturemechanism) prismatic battery cells and place them in the housing 40without performing a cell grading process (e.g., without determining asize variability within the manufacturing tolerance of standardizeddimensions for NMC/LTO prismatic battery cells). In doing so, thecapture mechanism may engage the prismatic battery cell 44 and remove itfrom an assembled group of the battery cells 44, and this may be donewithout a cell grading process. In other words, the control system 202may have control logic 204 that does not determine a size of theprismatic battery cells 44 when engaged with a clamping mechanism (e.g.,of the robotic placement system 206). Such cell grading processes may beavoided because it may be assumed that the substantially non-swellablebattery cells 44 all have substantially the same size.

The manufacturing system 200 may include an assembly path 208 configuredto convey module housings 40, and to position the housings 40 in alocation of the system 200 where the robotic placement system 206inserts the prismatic battery cells 44 into their respective cellreceptacle areas 54. The assembly path 208 may include various featuresconfigured to move all or a portion of a plurality of battery modulehousings 40 along a path where the housings 40 are operated upon toincorporate additional components. For example, the assembly path 208may include various motors, conveyors, sensors, and the like. Thesensors may, for example, be used by the control system 202 to determinewhen the housings 40 are appropriately positioned relative to therobotic placement system 206 so that the control system 202 may instructthe robotic placement system 206 to begin picking and placing theprismatic battery cells 44 into the housing 40.

The manufacturing system 200 also includes a cell feed path 210, whichconveys prismatic battery cells 44 from a battery cell source 212 to alocation proximate the robotic placement system 206. The battery cellsource 212 may represent, for example, a collection (group) of prismaticbattery cells all conforming to a set of manufacturing specifications.That is, each prismatic battery cell 44 may have dimensions withinmanufacturing tolerances of prismatic battery cell dimensions. Inaccordance with the present disclosure, the cells all conform to the setof manufacturing specifications by having the same cell chemistry (e.g.,the same anode and cathode chemistry, size, shape, and so forth, thesame electrolyte and additives), and the same defined dimensions formanufacture (i.e., the same set of standardized dimensions), where theactual dimensions of the conforming cells are within a manufacturingtolerance of the defined dimensions.

As an illustrative example, referring to the prismatic battery cell 44illustrated in FIG. 6, the cell 44 may have a defined value of, forexample, 14 mm for the cell thickness CT, and the tolerance of thethickness may be, for example, 0.50 mm, to account for manufacturingvariability (e.g., due to different SOCs and associated swelling). Thus,the battery cell source 212 may have a collection of the prismaticbattery cells 44 manufactured using the same specifications as theprismatic battery cell in FIG. 6, and having thicknesses varying from13.5 mm to 14.5 mm. The cell width CW and cell length CL may also have adefined manufacturing value, and a defined tolerance associated with thedefined manufacturing value. In this regard, CL, CW, and CT all havedefined manufacturing values and associated tolerances. The associatedtolerances may range, for example, from 0.5% to 5% of the definedmanufacturing value, meaning that the value of the manufactured batterycells 44 may range from between 0.5% and 5% below the definedmanufacturing value to between 0.5% and 5% above the definedmanufacturing value. By way of example, the tolerances may beapproximately 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, or 5% of the manufacturing value.The tolerance range may depend on the expected degree of size variationresulting from the small amounts of swelling in the NMC/LTO cells. Inthis regard, such embodiments of the battery cells 44 may be consideredto have tolerances that are much tighter than traditional groups ofbattery cells and, accordingly, may be considered to have substantiallymatching sizes (e.g., CT, CW, and CL may all be within 5% of a designvalue).

Returning now to the manufacturing system 200 of FIG. 13, the roboticplacement system 206 is shown as placing a first prismatic battery cell214 into the cell receptacle region 54. The first prismatic battery cell214 may have actual dimensions (CL, CW, CT) having a first SOC andassociated degree of variability within the standardized dimensions.

The robotic placement system 206 may also, upon instruction from thecontrol system 202, pick a second prismatic battery cell 216 and placeit in the housing 40 without the control system 202 performing adetermination as to the degree of variability of the second prismaticbattery cell 216 within the standardized dimensions. Similarly, thecontrol system 202 may cause the robotic placement system 206 to pick athird prismatic battery cell 218 and place it in the housing 40 withoutthe control system 202 performing a determination as to the degree ofvariability of the third prismatic battery cell 218 within thestandardized dimensions. Although the second prismatic battery cell 216may have a second SOC and associated degree of variability within thestandardized dimensions and the third prismatic battery cell 218 mayhave a third SOC and associated degree of variability within thestandardized dimensions, because the prismatic battery cells are NMC/LTOcells, they may not swell to an appreciable extent during operation and,accordingly, are assumed to be appropriately sized for the module 40.

An embodiment of a method 220 of producing lithium ion battery modulesusing the system 200 is depicted as a process flow diagram in FIG. 14.As illustrated, the method 220 may include obtaining (block 222) thebattery module housing 40. For example, obtaining the battery modulehousing 40 may include forming (e.g., molding) the battery modulehousing 40 as a one-piece or as a multi-piece structure. The housing 40may have any configuration, as noted above, such as a “shoe box”structure that is generally hollow or includes slots or partial slotsfor prismatic battery cells. As one example, forming the battery modulehousing may include molding the battery module housing to have first andsecond columns of the discontinuous slots 156, as generally shown inFIG. 13.

The discontinuous slots may be formed in the molding process by, forexample, molding fixed protrusions into an interior of the housing 40.In other embodiments, obtaining the battery module housing may simplycorrespond to purchasing the housing. In still further embodiments, thebattery module housing may be formed by a process other than molding,such as machining. Further still, the housing may be produced by acombination of molding and machining.

The method 220 may also include positioning (block 224) the batterymodule housing 40 to receive module components (e.g., in an orientationand position where a positioning system inserts components into thehousing 40), including the prismatic electrochemical cells 44. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 13, the assembly path 208 may position thehousing 40 proximate the robotic positioning system 206.

The method 220 also includes obtaining (block 226) a group of batterycells that all conform to a set of manufacturing specifications,including a set of standardized dimensions. Again, in accordance withthe present disclosure, the battery cells may be NMC/LTO cells that donot swell by more than 5% in any direction. As noted above, it is nowrecognized that the substantial non-swellable nature of the NMC/LTOcells means that regardless of their respective states of charge, thebattery cells are each suitable to be positioned in the housing 40.Accordingly, the method 220 includes placing (block 228) the batterycells in the housing 40 (e.g., in slots, partial slots, discontinuousslots), without determining a size variation of the battery cells.Again, the elimination of this manufacturing step may speedmanufacturing and reduce costs. Accordingly, the NMC/LTO prismaticbattery cells may simply be picked from, for example, the cell feed path210 and placed in the housing 40.

FIG. 15 depicts another embodiment of the manufacturing system 200,which may be used in combination with elements of the system 200 of FIG.13 (e.g., control logic configured to cause pick and place battery cellplacement), or instead of such elements. Specifically, the manufacturingsystem 200 includes the same system components as shown in FIG. 13, andalso includes an indexing system 230. The indexing system 230 mayinclude, among other things, sensors, computing equipment (e.g., memorycircuitry and processing circuitry), and so forth, that enable theindexing system 230, either alone or in combination with the controlsystem 202, to index the battery module housing 40. In indexing thebattery module housing 40, the indexing system 230 may, for example,index a plurality of battery cell positions 232 of the housing 40, whichcorrespond to positions where battery cells 44 are placed within thehousing 40. The indexing system 230 may also, in some embodiments, indexspacer positions 234 for spacers 236 (e.g., layers 194) that may belocated between the battery cells 44. The spacers 236 may be used, forexample, for electrical insulation and thermal conductance, and mayinclude padding layers, thermal gap pads, and the like. The spacers 236may, additionally or alternatively, be used for compression of thebattery cells 44 within the housing 44. The battery cell positions 232and the spacer positions 234 may be indexed in combination, orseparately. Further, it should be noted that each illustrated box forthe battery cell positions 232 and the spacer positions 234 maycorrespond to slots in the housing 40 configured to separate the batterycells 44 from one another or, in other embodiments, may simplycorrespond to a position but not a physical feature of the housing 40.

As one example, the indexing system 230 may index the spacer positions234 to determine a distance 238 corresponding to each of the spacerpositions 234, and may also index the battery positions 232 to determinea distance 240 corresponding to each of the battery positions 232. Theindexing system 230 may perform such indexing to determine an extent todisplace the battery module housing 40 during assembly of the module 28.These indexed distances may be stored by, for example, the controlsystem 202 (e.g., in non-transitory machine-readable memory), and usedto cause a housing actuation system 242 of the indexing system 230 tomove the housing 40 by the indexed distances. By way of example, thehousing actuation system 242 may include actuators such as one or moreservomechanisms to move the housing 40 (and components installed in thehousing 40) by the indexed distance corresponding to the spacer position234, by the indexed distance corresponding to the battery cell position232, or by a combination of the two indexed distances, or anycombination of the indexed distances. For example, the housing actuationsystem 242 may actuate the module housing 40 in a direction 244 by anamount corresponding to the indexed distance, and one of the batterycell positions 232 and/or one of the spacer positions 234 may bepositioned in an insertion location 246 of the indexing system. Theinsertion location 246 may be a location where the robotic placementsystem 206 repeatedly inserts one of the battery cells 44, one of thespacers 236, or a combination thereof, into the housing 40.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the embodiments relating toindexing of the housing 40 may be used as an alternative to, or incombination with, the embodiments relating to pick and place insertionof the battery cells 44 into the housing 40. In this regard, the presentdisclosure also provides a method 250, an embodiment of which isdepicted in FIG. 16, for manufacturing lithium ion battery modules inaccordance with the indexing approach described above. To helpillustrate aspects of the method 250, the method 250 will be describedin combination with the illustration of FIG. 17, which depicts varioussteps in the indexing process.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, the method 250 may include indexing (block252) the housing 40, for example to determine a space, distance, oranother appropriate measurement for a location in the housing 40corresponding to where battery cells 44 are to be inserted. Indexing inaccordance with block 252 may include, for example, performing automatedmeasurements (e.g., with the indexing system 242). In other embodiments,measurements may be provided to the indexing system 242 and/or thecontrol system 202, and the indexing system 242 and/or the controlsystem 202 may associate the entered measurements with appropriatefeatures of the housing 40 (e.g., the distances 238, 240).

To prepare the housing 40 for battery cell 44 insertions, the method 250also includes positioning (block 224) the battery module housing 40 toreceive certain components, as described above with respect to FIG. 14.In certain embodiments, the indexing system may be involved in thepositioning of the housing 40 (e.g., using the housing actuationsystem).

Once the housing 40 is appropriately positioned, a first of the batterycells 44 from a group (e.g., from the cell source 212 of FIG. 14) may beplaced (block 254) into a battery cell position of the housing 40, forexample at a particular cell insertion location of the robotic placementsystem 206. The corresponding location for the first battery cell may bereferred to as a first position within the housing. The method 250 mayalso include, either separately or in combination with insertion of thefirst battery cell, an insertion of a spacer into the housing 40 in acorresponding location for the spacer (e.g., a first spacer position fora first spacer). For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the module housing 40may have a first battery cell position 232A for a first battery cell44A, a first spacer position 234A for a first spacer 236A, and so forth.The method 250, in accordance with block 254, may cause a placementsystem (e.g., robotic placement system 206 of FIG. 14) or a conveyancesystem 255 (e.g., including a conveyor belt or the like), or both, todirect the first battery cell 44A into the first battery cell position232A of the housing 40. In certain embodiments, the first spacer 236Amay also be directed into the first spacer position 234A, either at thesame time or after placing the first battery cell 44A into the firstbattery cell position 232A, followed by an actuation along a fixeddistance corresponding to a space size of the first battery cellposition 232A and/or the first spacer position 234A.

In this regard, returning to FIG. 16, once the first battery cell (andany associated spacers) is positioned in the housing 40, the method 250includes moving (block 256) the housing 40 by a fixed distance toposition the housing 40 so that additional components (e.g., batterycells, spacers) can be inserted therein. For example, the distance thatthe housing 40 is moved may correspond to any one or a combination ofthe indexed distances determined in accordance with block 252. Again,the movement may be performed by, for example, a housing actuationsystem (e.g., one or more servomechanisms). Furthermore, it should benoted that more complex movements are also encompassed by the presentdisclosure. For example, block 256 may alternatively include moving thehousing 40 along a fixed distance in combination with one or morerotations, followed by additional movements. In such embodiments, themovements, rotations, and displacements may all be according to indexeddistances and spatial relationships. For example, as shown intransitioning from the top to bottom of FIG. 17, it can be seen that thehousing 40 is moved (e.g., along direction 244 and/or along a rotationaltrajectory 257) to where a second battery position 232B is placedgenerally in-line with the conveyance system 255.

Returning to FIG. 16, once the housing 40 is appropriately positioned bymovement along the fixed distance (or combinations of fixed movements),the method 250 includes placing (block 258) a second battery cell intothe housing 40 (e.g., proximate the first battery cell). The placementmay be performed in the same manner as set forth above for block 254, asshown in FIG. 17. In FIG. 17, it can be seen that the second batterycell 44B is placed into the second battery position 232B in the housing40 corresponding to a specified location for the second battery cell44B. Again, this may be performed alone, or in combination with spacerplacement into the housing (e.g., placement of a second spacer into asecond spacer position). Further, it should be noted that in automatedsystems, the robotic placement system 206 may perform highly precise andrepeated movements, which can be more reliable than having multiplevariables associated with component placement. Thus, in suchembodiments, the robotic placement system 206 may place the secondbattery cell into the same position it positioned the first battery cell(i.e., it uses the same movement). However, because the housing 40 hasbeen moved in accordance with block 256, the second battery cell isplaced into an appropriate location within the housing 40.

As noted above, it is now recognized that certain types of cells that donot swell by an appreciable extent (e.g., less than 5% in any direction)may afford certain benefits with respect to clamping, retaining, andmanufacturing in lithium ion battery modules. Indeed, the pick and placemethod of manufacturing and the indexing method of manufacturing maybenefit from such battery cells, and it is now recognized that certainintermediates, such as partially assembled battery modules in accordancewith present techniques, may be different compared to traditionalintermediates. One example is depicted in FIG. 18, which is a front viewof a partially assembled lithium ion battery module 270.

Specifically, the partially assembled lithium ion battery module 270 ofFIG. 17 includes a plurality of the prismatic battery cells 44 disposedwithin the housing 40 in respective discontinuous slots 156. In otherembodiments, the prismatic battery cells 44 may be disposed incontinuous slots, or may simply be in a stacked arrangement with noretention or suspending features built into the housing 40. For example,the battery cells 44 may be stacked on top of one another, with one ormore spacers positioned therebetween. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, the battery cells 44 may be substantially non-swellable, ormay not exhibit an appreciable amount of swelling. That is, theprismatic battery cells 44 may swell by no more than 5%, no more than4%, no more than 3%, no more than 2%, no more than 1%, or no more than0.5% in any direction, and in particular in the thickness direction(i.e., along CT). In one embodiment, the prismatic battery cells 44 allinclude NMC as the cathode active material, and LTO as the anode activematerial. Thus, they are all NMC/LTO prismatic battery cells.

Unlike traditional intermediates, the battery cells 44 in FIG. 18 havedifferent states of charge (SOC) that would otherwise preclude them frombeing incorporated into a partially assembled battery module. As anexample, all components that will be positioned into the cell receptacleregion 54, including any potential clamping features, any potentialspacers, and any potential battery cells, are all present. In otherwords, the cell receptacle region 54 is fully filled. Unlike housingsthat include multiple pieces and are bolted together, or housings thathave built-in cranking mechanisms, in accordance with one aspect of thepresent disclosure and as illustrated, the housing 40 is fully formedand is a one-piece structure, but does not include any built-in clampingfeatures that place a clamping force on the battery cells 44,specifically on the active area 120 of the cells 44 (e.g., on theirfaces 76, 78). Indeed, the battery cells 44 are all in an uncompressedstate, and may also be unrestrained in a floating arrangement.

More specifically, the states of charge of the prismatic battery cells44 in FIG. 18 may all be relatively high, may all be relatively low, ormay be a mixture of different states of charge that would otherwisecause traditional battery cells to swell and not be used in particularcombinations for a variety of reasons. By way of example, the pluralityof battery cells 44 may include a first prismatic NMC/LTO battery cell44A, a second prismatic NMC/LTO battery cell 44B, a third prismaticNMC/LTO battery cell 44C, a fourth prismatic NMC/LTO battery cell 44D, afifth prismatic NMC/LTO battery cell 44E, and a sixth prismatic NMC/LTObattery cell 44F, each having a respective cell thickness CT₁-CT₆, andeach having a respective state of charge. In traditional configurations,if the state of charge of the cells 44 varied across the plurality bymore than, for example, 30%, then CT₁-CT₆ would vary by a correspondingamount, for example an amount proportional to the state of charge due toswelling. However, in accordance with the present disclosure, CT₁-CT₆may vary by no more than 5%, because the state of charge has little tono effect on their respective thicknesses. Indeed, the state of chargefor the plurality of the battery cells 44A-44F may vary by between 25%and 60%, but CT₁-CT₆ do not vary by more than 5%, by more than 4%, bymore than 3%, by more than 2%, by more than 1%, or by more than 0.5%. Inother words, the NMC/LTO cells may have widely varying states of charge,but will not generally have varying cell thickness.

It should be appreciated that there may be a different number of suchcells in other instantiations, such as in the other embodiments shown inFIG. 3. Further, it should be noted that the partially assembled batterymodule 270 may not include features that would otherwise serve tobalance the state of charge of the plurality of battery cells. Forexample, the partially assembled battery module 270 may not includeelectrical components electrically connecting the battery cells 44 toone another, or a battery control module or similar regulation andcontrol circuitry that would otherwise serve to balance charge acrossthe plurality of the battery cells 44.

One or more of the disclosed embodiments, alone or on combination, mayprovide one or more technical effects including the use of substantiallynon-swelling battery cells in an unclamped, uncompressed arrangement.The use of such arrangements may result in battery modules that do notrequire the use of clamping mechanisms, battery cell hold downmechanisms, and the like, and accordingly have reduced weight andassociated cost. Further, the use of such types of battery cellsfacilitates manufacturing and reduces associated costs by enablingfaster manufacture and greater compatibility between battery modules byenabling a particular set of battery cells to have generally the samesize with little to no variation due to manufacturing. The technicaleffects and technical problems in the specification are exemplary andare not limiting. It should be noted that the embodiments described inthe specification may have other technical effects and can solve othertechnical problems.

While only certain features and embodiments have been illustrated anddescribed, many modifications and changes may occur to those skilled inthe art (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes andproportions of the various elements, values of parameters (e.g.,temperatures, pressures, etc.), mounting arrangements, use of materials,colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novelteachings and advantages of the disclosed subject matter. The order orsequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequencedaccording to alternative embodiments. It is, therefore, to be understoodthat the appended claims are intended to cover all such modificationsand changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.Furthermore, in an effort to provide a concise description of theexemplary embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may nothave been described. It should be appreciated that in the development ofany such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project,numerous implementation specific decisions may be made. Such adevelopment effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure, without undue experimentation.

1. A method of manufacturing a lithium ion battery module, comprising:engaging, with a capture mechanism of a pick and place system, aprismatic battery cell of an assembled group of prismatic battery cellshaving dimensions within manufacturing tolerances of prismatic batterycell dimensions; removing the prismatic battery cell from the group ofprismatic battery cells; and placing the prismatic battery cell into ahousing using a control system having control logic that does notdetermine a size of the prismatic battery cell.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the prismatic battery cell comprises Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) as ananode active material.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the prismaticbattery cell comprises LiNi_(1/3)Co_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)O₂ (NMC) as a cathodeactive material.
 4. The method of claim 1, comprising indexing, using anindexing system, respective positions for each prismatic battery cell ofthe group of prismatic battery cells within the housing.
 5. The methodof claim 4, comprising positioning the housing in an orientation andposition using the indexing system, the orientation and positioncorresponding to a position where the placement system inserts eachprismatic battery cell of the group of prismatic battery cells into thehousing.
 6. The method of claim 5, comprising: inserting the prismaticbattery cell into the position; displacing the housing by a fixeddistance corresponding to a space size, the displacement resulting inanother portion of the housing being placed into the orientation andposition; and inserting another prismatic battery cell into theposition.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein inserting the prismaticbattery cell into the position comprises inserting the prismatic batterycell along with a spacer into the housing.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein placing the prismatic battery cell into the housing comprisesplacing only the prismatic battery cell within a discontinuous slotformed by fixed protrusions in the housing.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein placing only the prismatic battery cell within the discontinuousslot produces a floating arrangement by suspending the prismatic batterycell by a pair of rounded sides of the prismatic battery cell with fixedprotrusions positioned on either side of the discontinuous slot.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, comprising forming the housing.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein forming the housing comprises molding the housing as aone-piece structure.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein forming thehousing comprises molding the housing to have first and second columnsof discontinuous slots, wherein each discontinuous slot of the first andsecond columns is in a parallel orientation with respect to a base ofthe housing, and the first and second columns each extend in thedirection from the base to a top portion of the housing.
 13. The methodof claim 10, wherein forming the housing comprises molding the housingto have a plurality of the fixed protrusions extending from internalsurfaces of the battery module housing.
 14. A method of manufacturing alithium ion battery module, comprising: placing a plurality of prismaticbattery cells in a battery module housing using a manufacturing systemcomprising a control system with control logic configured to control anindexing system and a positioning system, wherein the manufacturingsystem performs an indexing process, wherein the indexing processcomprises: positioning the battery module housing to receive a firstprismatic battery cell of the plurality of prismatic battery cells usingan actuation mechanism of the indexing system; placing the firstprismatic battery cell into the housing using the placement system;moving the battery module housing a distance, using the actuationmechanism, to position the battery module to receive a second prismaticbattery cell of the plurality of prismatic battery cells, wherein thedistance corresponds to an indexed position for each prismatic batterycell of the plurality of prismatic battery cells; and placing the secondprismatic battery cell into the housing using the placement system. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein placing the first prismatic battery cellinto the housing using the placement system comprises placing the firstprismatic battery cell in combination with a spacer into the housingusing the placement system.
 16. The method of claim 14, comprisingmoving the battery module housing by an additional distance, using theactuation mechanism, to position the battery module housing to receive aspacer proximate the first prismatic battery cell, and placing thespacer into the battery module housing proximate to the first prismaticbattery cell.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein placing the firstprismatic battery cell into the housing using the placement systemcomprises using the control system to cause the placement system to pickthe first prismatic battery cell from a group of prismatic batterycells, the group of prismatic battery cells all being within amanufacturing tolerance of standardized dimensions for the prismaticbattery cells.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the control systemhaving the control logic causes the placement system to pick the firstprismatic battery cell from the group of prismatic battery cells withoutdetermining a degree of variability within the manufacturing tolerancefor the first prismatic battery cell.
 19. The method of claim 14,comprising indexing, with the indexing system, respective positions ofslots of the battery module housing, the slots each corresponding to arespective position for a single prismatic battery cell of the pluralityof prismatic battery cells.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein theslots are discontinuous slots formed by fixed protrusions in the batterymodule housing.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein positioning thebattery module housing to receive the first prismatic battery cellcomprises arranging a base of the battery module housing and a topportion of the battery module housing positioned opposite the base suchthat they are both substantially perpendicular with gravity.
 22. Alithium ion battery module system, comprising: a battery module housing;a plurality of prismatic battery cells positioned within the batterymodule housing in a floating arrangement, wherein each prismatic batterycell of the plurality of prismatic battery cells comprises cellterminals positioned at a first casing portion, a second casing portionpositioned opposite the first casing portion, first and second sidesextending between the first and second casing portions, and first andsecond faces connecting the first and second sides, the first and secondfaces being opposite one another, wherein a thickness of each prismaticbattery cell is defined by a distance between the first and secondfaces; and wherein each prismatic battery cell of the plurality ofprismatic battery cells is substantially non-swellable and comprises arespective state of charge, and wherein the respective states of chargevary by at least 20% and the respective thicknesses vary by no more than5% across the plurality of prismatic battery cells.
 23. The lithium ionbattery module system of claim 22, wherein the battery module housingand the plurality of prismatic battery cells are a part of a partiallyassembled lithium ion battery module.
 24. The lithium ion battery modulesystem of claim 23, wherein the plurality of prismatic battery cellscomprise lithium titanate (LTO) as an anode active material.
 25. Thelithium ion battery module system of claim 24, wherein the plurality ofprismatic battery cells comprise LiNi_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)Co_(1/3)O₂ (NMC) as acathode active material.
 26. The lithium ion battery module of claim 25,wherein the plurality of prismatic battery cells comprise LiCoO₂ (LCO)as a cathode active material.
 27. The lithium ion battery module systemof claim 23, wherein the plurality of prismatic battery cells are notelectrically connected.
 28. The lithium ion battery module system ofclaim 23, wherein the partially assembled lithium ion battery moduledoes not comprise control and regulation circuitry to balance the chargeof the plurality of prismatic battery cells.
 29. The lithium ion batterymodule system of claim 22, wherein each prismatic battery cell of theplurality of prismatic battery cells is substantially non-swellable inthat each prismatic battery cell swells by no more than 5% in anydirection.
 30. The lithium ion battery module system of claim 29,wherein each prismatic battery cell of the plurality of prismaticbattery cells has a respective cell thickness within 5% of astandardized thickness.